Kaia’tanó:ron Dumoulin Bush. Ribbon Dress. Acrylic on panel. 2018.

Hello there!

I am back at AbTeC after completing my BFA in Indigenous Visual Culture at OCAD University. In December, my first solo exhibition TOO MUCH NOT ENOUGH opened and closed successfully, ending a chapter in my academic journey. I showed eight paintings and one sculpture that combined the artistic practices of the Onkwehonwe and French-Canadian sides of my family in different ways. In these works, I reject and question quantifications of worth applied to me by others, society, and myself—such as blood quantum—and in turn, disrupt expectations imposed on Indigenous women and makers. I will be showing select works from this exhibition at GRAD EX 104 from May 1st to 5th OCAD University. Hopefully, I can maintain a painting practice now that I am out of school!

Otherwise, I’ve been keeping busy! I am currently part of the Encore! Sistema team at the Karonhianonhnha and Kateri schools in Kahnawake. We have a concert at Oscar Peterson Hall on March 31st if you want to check us out. The kids are working so hard! I am also working on a short graphic novel anthology for Feathers of Hope and the-now-decommissioned Ontario Children’s Advocate called Blueberries; Healing the Circle, which will be published online near the end of the month.

At AbTeC, I am honored to be working on the Kanien’kehá:ka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Centre Creation Story project. I am painting backgrounds and assets that will showcase great animation work and tell the Kanien’kehá:ka creation story. This is my first time painting to accompany animation and it is a great learning experience for me. Having worked on the first draft of the animatic this past summer, it is great to see the awesome job Ray Caplin did adding his magic touch, fleshing out and tidying up my (very) rough work— making it more cinematic. The prolific Teiowí:sonte Deer created the concept art for the project; learning to emulate his aesthetic and artisanship has become a fun challenge for me. I find myself tuning into stylistic details that I would have never noticed before. On top of this, I get to do my work on my new Cintiq Pro 16 that I got over the holidays, it is super portable and it is really speeding up my working processes!

Kaia’tanó:ron Dumoulin Bush is a Kanien’kehá/French-Canadian illustrator and visual artist from Montreal, Quebec. Currently, she is completing her BFA in Indigenous Visual Culture at OCAD University and has previously obtained DECs in Fine Arts and Illustration & Design at Dawson College. Her personal artwork deals with sexuality, violence, identity, and politics. While professionally, she loves collaborating with clients who seek to enrich Indigenous communities and empower Indigenous youth. Since 2012, Kaia’tanó:ron has worked with the Encore! Sistema after school and summer camp programs based out of Karonhianonhnha School in Kahnawake, QC. as a music and visual arts educator teaching students from grades two to six. Her freelance work has allowed her to work with a variation of organizations from Montreal, to Toronto, and in-between such as Jumblies Theatre Company, Onsite Gallery, and The Red Dress Project. In 2017, she participated in Toronto’s Nuit Blanche in collaboration with Deanna Bowen and Syrus Marcus Ware of Black Lives Matter, in Won’t Back Down – one of NOW Toronto’s top 10 must-see shows at Nuit Blanche 2017. This summer, she celebrates the publication of her first graphic novel and trilingual (Kanien’kehá, French, and English) picture dictionary – Hé:, Ahsennénhkha! (Bravo, le Milieu! -Yay, Middle!) published by Kawennakátste’ Mohawk Language Arts.

Her artistic practice is diverse, including but not limited to illustration, graphic design, painting, sculpture, and curation. As the co-president of the Indigenous Student Association at OCAD University, she has also undertaken multiple curatorial projects in order to provide Indigenous students with the opportunity to experience exhibiting their work in a gallery setting. Since 2015, she has co-curated five exhibitions, Inheritance (Dawson College), Primitive, Tewá:ko-Dagoshin-Otiacicoh-Takoshin-Bagamaawaniidiwag (Arrive), Terra Incognita (Daniels Spectrum), and most recently, Flux Refusal.

You can look through Kaia’tanó:ron’s work here. Her Instagram handle is @owlerfish and you can send her an email at kaiatanorondumoulin@gmail.com.